Friday, January 5, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Six Soldiers Hurt in Apparent Landmine Blast in Rakhine’s Maungdaw

Posted: 05 Jan 2018 05:59 AM PST

YANGON – Six soldiers were injured when their vehicle was struck by what police believe was a remotely detonated landmine in northern Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township on Friday morning, a border police officer in Kyein Chaung village told The Irrawaddy.

The blast occurred near Tarein, an ethnic Arakanese village in the northern part of the township about 30 km from downtown Maungdaw. According to the police officer, the six soldiers were escorting an Army officer who had fallen ill and was being transported in a civilian vehicle to Maungdaw to receive medical treatment. The police officer could not identify the soldiers' regiment.

As the vehicle was passing Tarein at around 10.30 a.m, it was targeted by what appeared to be a remotely detonated landmine, causing minor injuries to the six soldiers and the civilian driver. The sick officer was not injured in the blast.

Following the blast, the vehicle came under attack from gunmen apparently positioned on a nearby hill, but the passengers managed to escape further injury. It was unclear whether the attack was carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) or an Arakanese armed group.

The police officer said a remotely controlled landmine was likely to blame, rather than a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). "If it was an RPG, the vehicle would have been blown to bits. I'm pretty sure this was a landmine attack," he said.

He speculated the ambush was the work of an Arakanese armed group, rather than ARSA militants, given the location of the attack near an Arakanese village and the fact that ARSA usually attacks at night. Security forces were on the scene quickly and a hunt for the attackers was under way by 1 p.m.

On Dec. 28, an Arakanese resident of Tarein was killed in a machete attack while fishing near a Muslim village. Authorities have yet to identify any suspects in that attack. In early December, a mine detonated on the Ann-Myebon Highway shortly after Rakhine State Chief Minister Nyi Pu's convoy passed by. An Army truck was hit and four soldiers were wounded.

The post Six Soldiers Hurt in Apparent Landmine Blast in Rakhine's Maungdaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

More Than 1,200 Villagers Flee as Tatmadaw Battles TNLA in Northern Shan State

Posted: 05 Jan 2018 05:28 AM PST

YANGON—Over 1,200 residents of three villages in northern Shan State have fled to Kyaukme Township and Mongngaw Sub-township to escape fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The clashes erupted on Dec. 27 on the border of Kyaukme and Namhsan townships.

Tensions between the Army and the TNLA remain high, according to local community-based organizations.

"Social organizations from Lashio, Namhsan and Kutkai townships as well as a Kyaukme-based committee for displaced persons have distributed relief supplies," Ko Thar Zaw, a volunteer helping displaced persons in Kyaukme, told The Irrawaddy.

"We don't know how many days the displaced persons will have to shelter here, or whether there will be additional needs," he added.

The Department of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is also providing emergency aid to displaced persons.

"We've provided nine items of emergency aid to over 300 households. They include seven days' rations of rice, clothing, soap, pans, blankets, towels and so on. People displaced in earlier clashes have already returned to their homes. These [1,200 villagers] are newcomers" displaced by the most recent clashes, said Ko Aung Kyaw Moe, a department official.

A total of 744 displaced persons are taking shelter at monasteries and mediation halls in Kyaukme, according to local community-based organizations. The rest are taking refuge at a pagoda and mediation halls in Mongngaw Sub-township, some 32 miles from Kyaukme.

The Kyaukme branch of the Myanmar Red Cross Society has also provided blankets and emergency childbirth kits for pregnant women.

"The Tatmadaw [Myanmar's military] and the TNLA clashed at the border of Kyaukme and Namhsan. Neither side is willing to step back, though the fighting has stopped for the time being. But locals are concerned that it could break out again at anytime. So they fled," Ko Thar Zaw said.

According to the TNLA Information Department, the TNLA and the Tatmadaw clashed from 7.25 am to 9.45 am near the village of Dow Lwe in Namhsan Township on Dec. 27.

Meanwhile, the Tatmadaw is also fighting the Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State's Mansi Township.

Separately, clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army through November and December forced over 300 locals in Paletwa, Chin State to flee their homes.

More than 1,000 locals have crossed the border into India's Mizoram State and are in need of relief supplies.

The post More Than 1,200 Villagers Flee as Tatmadaw Battles TNLA in Northern Shan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

The Govt’s New Year’s Resolution Should be a Cabinet Reshuffle

Posted: 05 Jan 2018 05:19 AM PST

Rather than wishing its fellow citizens good health and wellbeing in the new year, the NLD government should be more serious if it wants something meaningful for 2018 — a cabinet reshuffle.

Over the course of its 21 months in office — to the public's dismay — most of the leaders of civilian-run ministries have proved themselves inept. They have been incapable of even making their own decisions. They are reluctant to take risks, as U Win Htein, one of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's aides, put it. (Three military-run ministries are excluded, as the government has no power over them.)

With those people in charge, it's no wonder that we have heard reckless comments, for example that Myanmar's economy would take off like a "jet" even while local manufacturers were facing hurdles — a lack of infrastructure and an unfair tax system — in trying to attract international investors. People can no longer recall the name of the ethnic affairs minister, who stays out of sight most of the time. And it was disappointing to see a muted information minister when northern Rakhine State was burning and Myanmar was besieged with international criticism over the issue.

For the NLD government, it was a waste of time to have spent nearly two years on incapable ministers. President U Htin Kyaw's administration had a bumpy start. The announcement of his cabinet was met with ridicule when it emerged that several of his new ministers had fake degrees. When the administration turned one last year, its de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, boasted that the cabinet was corruption-free. It was a delight for the people to hear that. However, they need not only a clean government but also cohesive and effective ministries with the right people in the right places to move the country forward. Political will alone is not enough to build a nation.

It's an open secret that there are some high-level department officials who are reluctant to be loyal to the NLD government. The majority of them had worked for General–turned-President U Thein Sein during the previous administration. By putting national reconciliation ahead of everything else, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has remained patient with them, hoping they would work for the good of the country. Now, 21 months on, those officials remain far from fulfilling her hopes, U Win Htein said.

So now is the time for the NLD government to have an administrative shakeup for the sake of the people who heartily voted it into power in 2015. It should not let the people down. Any failure of the shakeup to meet the people's expectations will lead to a failed democratic transition. With the 2020 elections looming, the party seems to be feeling the heat — it just announced plans to reform the party structure in a bid for better performance. The government should follow suit, but quickly, for the clock is ticking.

The post The Govt's New Year's Resolution Should be a Cabinet Reshuffle appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Shan National Dialogue In Doubt After Public Consultation Cancelled

Posted: 05 Jan 2018 04:56 AM PST

YANGON – A Shan national-level dialogue (ND) convened for Langkho (Lin Khay) next week is now unlikely to go ahead after a Shan public consultation planned to be held in Taunggyi this weekend had to be cancelled.

"We are not sure yet whether it will be held in Langkho, as the pre-consultation for the ND in Taunggyi on Jan. 7-9 has been cancelled," said Sai Kyaw Nyunt, secretary of both the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and the Shan national-level dialogue convening committee. He also represents the SNLD at the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC).

If the Shan national-level political dialogue in Langkho is not held, the participation of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) in the upcoming session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference (UPC) later this month will pose a dilemma for the organisers. Although the Shan ND was not able to be carried out before May last year, the RCSS still participated in the second session of the 21st Panglong UPC, in order to allow the process to continue.

Tensions have been high since the last few weeks of 2017 when the pre-consultations being led by the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) — which is chaired by the RCSS – were blocked by the Tatmadaw and later by the Shan State government.

Talks were held between the RCSS, a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), and the Tatmadaw, but they failed to find a way around the impasse.

The Tatmadaw has long insisted that only the RCSS, an NCA signatory, can lead the Shan ethnic based ND, and rejected the pre-consultations on the grounds that there is no provision for them in the agreement.

The Tatmadaw has said the RCSS can hold consultations or the ND in their territories but not in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, which is controlled by the government. Given this, the RCSS and the Tatmadaw have not been able to agree on a venue, as the RCSS had proposed Taunggyi as the site for the dialogue.

The military's obstructionist moves were reportedly due to the consultations being held under the leadership of the CSSU. The CSSU – an alliance of Shan political parties, the Shan armed groups, the RCSS and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), and civil society groups – includes the SSPP as a member. The SSPP is a non-signatory to the NCA and is a member of the northeast based Federal Political Negotiation and Consultation Committee.

Another possible concern of the Tatmadaw seemed to be centered on public gatherings held by the Shan, as the Shan were a politically strong group and a key player in the Federal movement in 1961, which preceded a military coup a year later.

"We Shans have put our efforts into building the federal union since new Union of Myanmar was created [70 years ago] and we have maintained those efforts. So the public gathering prior to the Shan national-level dialogue should be allowed. It is for good," said Sai Aung Myint Oo, a prominent ethnic Shan youth.

According to the NCA text, only the signatories to the pact can hold national level political dialogues as laid down in the political roadmap (Section 20, Chapter 5), as agreed by both sides of NCA signatories.

Peace commission secretary U Khin Zaw Oo, a former lieutenant-general who is acting as the Tatmadaw's intermediary, told The Irrawaddy last week that it was not a problem who led the ND, but the obstruction may be due to there being no stated provision for pre-consultations for the ND in the [framework] agreement.

Observers and some stakeholders have suggested that the Shan pre-consultations would not present a problem if they slightly amended the title to "public consultations" instead of "pre-discussion for the ND".

The title has become a sticking point as the government, Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) all have different understandings about the concept of a pre-consultation and the ND, said Khun Okkar, of the PaO Nationalities Liberation Organization. He said they hoped to find a solution to the matter during a UPDJC meeting next week, on Jan. 9.

"It won't matter whether we change the title or not. They just don't want us to convene. Prior to us, the Karens, Chins and PaOs also did the same and they were able to hold consultations [in 2017]," said Sai Kyaw Nyunt, adding that even the civil society groups, which held their final forum in Naypyidaw this week — were able to do pre-consultations in almost every state and region.

"If the rules are applied differently for different groups, it won't be convenient," he said.

Although the NCA guarantees participation to all ethnic nationalities at all levels of political dialogue, "the public collaborations are being reduced," said Sai Kyaw Nyunt. “I also wonder why the civilian government doesn't want to allow us to attend, and why the Tatmadaw keeps blocking us,” he said.

Sai Kyaw Nyunt asserted there had been a gentleman's agreement on the pre-ND. "We were told it is not stipulated, and that we have to do it by the book," he said, "I would argue there is no restriction either in the NCA, or in the political dialogue frameworks stating that non-signatories cannot hold such dialogues."

According to the NCA roadmap, the political dialogues are a key foundation step to amending the Constitution, as an agreement from the political dialogues, including the discussion of security sector reform, would have to be presented at the Union Peace Conference (UPC) for the Union Accord to be signed.

However, the current peace-building process has become mired in uncertainty as the framework on the political dialogue has not yet become a common agreement and the UPC is being held without a complete convening of the political dialogues.

After the second 21st Panglong UPC, the first part of the Union Accord was signed with a lack of key federal principles. This was partly due to the Tatmadaw's position of wanting a non-separation of the ethnic states from the Union of Myanmar and its demand for the EAOs to make such a pledge. The question remains whether the stakeholders will be able to include the key federal principles, such as the drafting of ethnic state constitutions and self-determination, in the new Constitution.

Without the key federal principles, any change to the Constitution, which is one of the main aims of the NLD government, will be unsuccessful. Sai Kyaw Nyunt said the UPC would not be needed if the government and the Tatmadaw did not want to change the Constitution.

For the federal principles to be included in the Union Accord, all nationalities of Myanmar must strive to achieve it, said Khun Okkar.

The post Shan National Dialogue In Doubt After Public Consultation Cancelled appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar President Reaffirms Commitment to Constitutional Reform

Posted: 05 Jan 2018 03:55 AM PST

YANGON — Myanmar's President U Htin Kyaw repeated a vow to create a Constitution that upholds democratic standards on the country's 70th anniversary of independence.

Amid critics pointing out that the National League for Democracy (NLD) has remained silent regarding constitutional reform, the president's statement on Thursday reaffirms that the government has not swayed from its ultimate goal of rewriting the military-drafted 2008 Constitution.

The emergence of a Constitution in line with democratic norms has been a top priority for the NLD. But attempts to amend or replace the current Constitution will be no easy task, as it will put the NLD head-to-head with hardline military generals.

"We all must collaborate to adopt a Constitution suitable for the country as we build a democratic federal Union in accordance with the results of the political dialogues," President U Htin Kyaw said in his Independence Day message.

He said the government is working on national reconciliation and the peace process aimed at building a democratic state based on the principles of freedom for all ethnic national races, justice, equality and the right to self-determination, calling for the cessation of all armed conflicts and respect for human rights.

Yet, the president did not elaborate as to how the government is working for constitutional reform.

Despite a civilian government assuming power in Myanmar, the constitutional crisis remains a major barrier to the country's democratic transition.

The military retains a powerful influence under the Constitution.

The military sees its main duty as safeguarding the charter, which guarantees that it maintains an important leadership role. Constitutionally, 25 percent of seats in all national and regional parliaments are reserved for the military. It also holds three key ministerial portfolios—Defense, Home and Border Affairs—and appoints a vice president.

In a statement released on Thursday commemorating the anniversary of independence, the ruling NLD party stated that it wouldn't be swayed from implementing its election promises including ending long-running civil wars, achieving lasting peace and implementing constitutional change.

It also stated that the Rakhine State crisis has been the biggest blow to its government and has challenged national dignity and sovereignty.

"In spite of some UN agencies and powerful countries criticizing and imposing sanctions against Myanmar as if it is their enemy, we are not nervous, and are responding to them based on reality and practical actions."

The post Myanmar President Reaffirms Commitment to Constitutional Reform appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Gems and Jewelry Fair Returns to Yangon

Posted: 05 Jan 2018 01:02 AM PST

YANGON — The international Gems and Jewelry Fair is returning to Yangon this year, nearly a decade after it was last held in the country's commercial capital.

The fair will feature about 100 booths selling mainly rubies, jade and sapphire and run from Jan. 11 through Jan. 14 at the Lotte Hotel in Hlaing Township, said U Aung Myint, vice chairman of the Yangon branch of the Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association.

"Though our rubies and sapphires are popular among international countries, we don't have a market at home for international buyers. So we intend to establish a domestic market gradually through such exhibitions," U Aung Myint said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Professionals will also give talks on the gem and jewelry market during the fair, according to organizers.

In the past, jade and gem emporiums for international buyers were mainly held in Yangon. But after the U Thein Sein government took power in 2010, the emporiums were moved to the national administrative capital of Naypyitaw.

"We intend to develop jewelry making in the country through such exhibitions," said U Aung Myint, noting that the country mainly exports raw jade and gems rather than finished jewelry items.

The Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association also intends to fight the smuggling of gems and jewelry with such fairs so that the government can earn more revenue from legal trade.

At a press conference for Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Day in Naypyitaw in August, U Myint Han, the Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association's vice chairman, claimed that there was rampant smuggling of jade and gems to China not because merchants did not want to pay tax but because the trade taxes were too high.

According to the association, more than 1,000 gem merchants and their peers from 36 countries have been invited to this month's fair.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Gems and Jewelry Fair Returns to Yangon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mon State Chief Minister Tells Locals to Eat Less to Lower Food Prices

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 11:32 PM PST

THATON, Mon State — Mon State Chief Minister U Aye Zan has told the residents of Thaton Township to "eat only a dish of curry" at mealtime in order to bring down food prices.

The chief minister said food prices would decline if every household ate only a dish of curry at their dining tables when he and other officials met with locals on Wednesday.

After the officials made their speeches, locals were allowed to ask questions.

"I'd like to know if the government can adjust the prices of food including rice, oil, salt and onions and general consumer goods to an appropriate level," said U Aye Myint.

"Our country is poor. We should only eat a dish of curry. If we don't go to tea shops and only eat a dish of curry in our homes, won't the food prices decline?" the minister replied.

When U Aye Myint answered "yes," the minister added: "If so, it would be the best. Do you think a law can be enacted to require people to do so?"

"It is easy to bring down food prices, isn't it? Don't make donations," U Aye Zan said, referring to the practice of donating food for Buddhist novitiation ceremonies and other rituals.

"If you are going to prepare ten dishes of curry for your donation ceremony, then you can choose to donate only one dish, can't you? It is quite easy to bring down food prices," the minister added.

He urged locals to take the example of England and Russia, which rationed food during the world wars.

He said the people of Myanmar should spend more money investing and less buying food, and to farm on vacant land.

"When we were young, students had to grow gourd, ladyfinger, roselle, radish and so on in the school compound," U Aye Zan said, urging locals to plant crops around their houses to reduce their food expenses.

The Union minister for agriculture and irrigation under the previous administration, U Myint Hlaing, came under fire for similar remarks when he told farmers to "skip a meal" in order to pay back the agricultural loans provided by the government. He was henceforth dubbed "one-meal Myint Hlaing."

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

The post Mon State Chief Minister Tells Locals to Eat Less to Lower Food Prices appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ex-Political Prisoner Makes Art From Plastic Refuse

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 11:21 PM PST

Shortly before daybreak on the last day of 2017, San Zaw Htway, a Myanmar artist famous for his collages made from recycled plastic bags and also a former political prisoner, succumbed to a liver ailment in a Yangon hospital. Known for his humility and the promotion of his collage techniques among children, including those in internally displaced person camps, the 44-year-old had been diagnosed with advanced liver cancer brought on by the dire prison conditions he endured as a political prisoner and poor healthcare following his release. Here is his profile, published in the October 2014 edition of the Irrawaddy Magazine.

YANGON — Give him plastic bags of any color, and this former political prisoner will turn them into a work of art.

Instead of acrylic paint and brushes, San Zaw Htway opts to work with not only plastic bags, but also cardboard, instant coffee packets and other recycled goods. He taught himself to make painting-like collages with these materials while he was serving time under the former military regime.

"They're all I need," boasted the 40-year-old, pointing to scissors and adhesive containers littered across the floor of his studio in Rangoon. In one corner of the second-floor studio sits of a pile of smoothed plastic wrappings that otherwise would have been destined for a garbage can.

The article 'From Plastic, Ex-political Prisoner Makes Art' as it appeared in The Irrawaddy Magazine's October 2014 issue.

Since his release from prison in 2012, San Zaw Htway has held five solo shows in Burma, in addition to teaching his collage techniques to orphans and children living with HIV.

Now his work is gaining international attention. He has been shortlisted for the 2014 Artraker Award, which recognizes artists who are making a difference in highly challenging environments. The works of 12 candidates from 10 countries, including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, will be exhibited from Sept. 18-25 at London's a/political gallery.

"Being shortlisted means a lot to me because recycled collage art is still not well embraced in Burma," said San Zaw Htway at his home, while preparing for his trip to the capital of England.

A collage by San Zaw Htway.(Photo: The Irrawaddy)

"Despite my access to paint and brushes now, I still stick to recycled collage art because it's environmentally sustainable and I want the art trend to develop in Burma," he added.

Painting was a childhood hobby for San Zaw Htway. When he was sentenced to 36 years in prison for his anti-government political activities in 1999, he was only a college freshman majoring in history. He spent 13 years in prison, during which time he was put in solitary confinement and he went on hunger strikes.

Burmese prisons are notorious for their squalid conditions and restrictions on prisoners' rights, with even reading and writing prohibited. San Zaw Htaw said he saw art as a way to defy prison authorities. "I intentionally did it to show them that they can't control everything in our lives," he said. "But the problem was how to make it happen, since painting materials were not allowed."

The student activist decided to make collages with materials within his reach. When his family sent him foods wrapped in plastic bags, he turned the bags into a canvas on which he plastered colorful cuttings from instant coffee packets and shampoo sachets. He scavenged prison garbage cans for plastic sheets in colors that caught his eye. He washed them, smoothed them out and applied them onto the makeshift canvas with the help of a smuggled scissor and glue.

A collage by San Zaw Htway.(Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Working late at night under the faint glow of a light bulb that dangled on the ceiling of the corridor outside his cell, he was careful to hide his work from prison authorities, taking days to finish a single collage. He produced portraits of Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and collages of peacocks, the emblem of Burmese student and democracy movements. Some of his works reflected his longing for freedom, including "Blue Moon on the Highway," one the three collages that have been chosen for the exhibition in London.

"I was lying awake one night in 2009 and I heard the occasional swishes of buses on the highway outside the prison. I felt a surge of longing to be on one of those buses, so I poured out my feeling onto the collage," he said.

Htein Lin, a prominent Burmese contemporary artist and another former political prisoner, said San Zaw Htway's nomination for the Artraker Award and his participation in the exhibition would be a source of pride for Burmese artists and their country.

A collage by San Zaw Htway.(Photo: The Irrawaddy)

"I like his recycled artwork, not only for its promotion of environmental sustainability, but also for its reflection of an important message behind all forms of prison artwork: You can lock up our bodies, but not our emotions and our creativity," he said.

Apart from being a collage artist, San Zaw Htway is a counselor for former political prisoners and their families. Earlier this year he joined a training program—organized by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) with support from Johns Hopkins University—and now he offers counseling sessions five days per week.

"As a former political prisoner myself, I know very well to what extent we and our families have been mentally affected by what we faced for years. Counseling is one of the best ways to cure their traumas," he said.

When asked how he felt to be participating in the exhibition in London, he said he was happy.

"My prison experience has taught me that no matter how dire the situation is, there is a way to achieve what you want to do," he said. "That is my message to anyone who sees my art."

The post Ex-Political Prisoner Makes Art From Plastic Refuse appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suspects in Firearms Haul Brought to Trial

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 10:00 PM PST

NAYPYITAW — U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San, the chairman of ACE Co and son of the sports minister during U Thein Sein's administration, and seven accomplices were brought to trial on Wednesday for the first time in a Naypyitaw court since they were detained in connection with a haul of firearms in October.

Police detained U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San and two ACE employees at Naypyitaw Airport on Oct. 15 after discovering 12 yaba tablets, 1.5 grams of methamphetamine, two pistols and 72 bullets in U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San's backpack.

Further investigations led to the seizure of around 30 firearms, bullets and drugs from ACE hotel, company property, and U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San's houses in Naypyitaw and Yangon.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has since taken over the case and has charged 15 individuals including U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San on 17 counts of illegal possession of firearms and illicit drugs and other charges including Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for keeping walkie-talkies and Article 8 of the Export/Import Law for keeping drones.

Other charges includes Article 61(a) of the State Secrets Act for the unauthorized use of the National Security Council (NSC) logo on cars, and possession of bullet-proof jackets and camouflage jackets with SWAT badges similar to those worn by the bodyguards of President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the Home Affairs Ministry.

A suspect identified as Kyaw Chan Nyein is still at large and cross-questioning of U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San will start at later trials, which are scheduled to be held every Wednesday, said U Hla Win, the judge of Dekkhinathiri District Court.

"We've issued a warrant for him," U Khin Maung Htwe, the deputy district judge, told reporters.

U Phyo Phyo Tint San appeared to be in good health at the district court on Wednesday.

According to the police, violation of Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law is punishable by one year's imprisonment, Article 8 of the Export/Import Law, three years' imprisonment, and Article 61(a) State Secrets Act, two years' imprisonment.

U Phyo Ko Ko Tint San, according to the initial investigation, had been planning to establish a security company, though none of the existing laws allows for the provision of armed security services by private companies.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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China to Create New Forests Covering Area the Size of Ireland

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 09:03 PM PST

SHANGHAI — China will plant new forests covering an area roughly the size of Ireland this year as it aims to increase forest coverage to 23 percent of its total landmass by the end of the decade, China Daily reported on Friday.

Planting trees has become a key part of China's efforts to improve its environment and tackle climate change, and the government has pledged to raise total coverage from 21.7 percent to 23 percent over the 2016-2020 period, said the China Daily, citing the country's top forestry official.

Zhang Jianlong, head of the State Forestry Administration, said at a meeting on Thursday that China would aim to grow at least 6.66 million hectares of new forest this year.

He said 33.8 million hectares of forest had been planted nationwide over the last five years, with a total investment of more than 538 billion yuan ($82.88 billion), bringing the country's total forest area to 208 million hectares.

Three new state forests with a total area of 483,000 hectares would also be built in the new Xiongan development zone in Hebei province, he said.

The heavily polluted Hebei, which surrounds the capital Beijing, has also pledged to raise total forest coverage to 35 percent by the end of 2020.

China, which has to feed a quarter of the global population using just 7 percent of the world's arable land, has long struggled to strike a balance between industrial growth, maximizing food production and protecting its environment.

The government is currently promoting an "ecological red line" program that will force provinces and regions to restrict "irrational development" and curb construction near rivers, forests and national parks.

The Environment Ministry said last month that 15 provinces had already drawn up plans, with the remaining 16 aiming to do so this year, but it is not yet clear what impact the policy will have on the country's farmland.

The post China to Create New Forests Covering Area the Size of Ireland appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Apple to Issue Fix for iPhones, Macs at Risk From ‘Spectre’ Chip Flaw

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 08:04 PM PST

Apple Inc will release a patch for the Safari web browser on its iPhones, iPads and Macs within days, it said on Thursday, after major chipmakers disclosed flaws that leave nearly every modern computing device vulnerable to hackers.

On Wednesday, Alphabet Inc's Google and other security researchers disclosed two major chip flaws, one called Meltdown affecting only Intel Corp chips and one called Spectre affecting nearly all computer chips made in the last decade. The news sparked a sell-off in Intel's stock as investors tried to gauge the costs to the chipmaker.

In a statement on its website, Apple said all Mac and iOS devices are affected by both Meltdown and Spectre. But the most recent operating system updates for Mac computers, Apple TVs, iPhones and iPads protect users against the Meltdown attack and do not slow down the devices, it added, and Meltdown does not affect the Apple Watch.

Macs and iOS devices are vulnerable to Spectre attacks through code that can run in web browsers. Apple said it would issue a patch to its Safari web browser for those devices "in the coming days."

Shortly after the researchers disclosed the chip flaws Wednesday, Google and Microsoft Corp released statements telling users which of their products were affected. Google said its users of Android phones – more than 80 percent of the global market – were protected if they had the latest security updates.

Apple remained silent for more than a day about the fate of the hundreds of millions of users of its iPhones and iPads. Ben Johnson, co-founder and chief strategist for cyber security firm Carbon Black, said the delay in updating customers about whether Apple's devices are at risk could affect Apple's drive to get more business customers to adopt its hardware.

"Something this severe gets the attention of all the employees and executives at a company, and when they go asking the IT and security people about it and security doesn't have an answer for iPhones and iPads, it just doesn’t give a whole lot of confidence," Johnson said.

The post Apple to Issue Fix for iPhones, Macs at Risk From 'Spectre' Chip Flaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

NLD Embarks on Internal Revamp Ahead of 2020 Vote

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 05:58 PM PST

YANGON — The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) plans to implement structural reforms ahead of the 2020 elections, which are expected to be the most fiercely contested in the nation's history.

At a central committee meeting at the party's Yangon headquarters on Dec. 30 and 31, the party had reviewed its performance since taking power two years ago and identified a number of shortcomings that need addressing, senior NLD members said.

Monywa Aung Shin, secretary of the NLD's Central Information Committee, said the party would restructure and reinforce its main institutions—the central, disciplinary and working committees—at all levels.

The reforms will be complete within the first six months of this year, he said.

Since the end of last year, the party has already reformed some of its central working committees including those on information, women, workers, farmers and economic issues, the committee secretary said.

To improve the party's performance on the ground, four other central working committees would be reformed, including the education and health panels, Monywa Aung Shin said.

At the last nationwide polls in 2015, voters overwhelmingly backed the NLD. But by-elections on April 1, 2017 came as a wake-up call, showing a decline in the public's faith in the party. The NLD won just nine of the 18 seats it contested, losing most of the races in heavily ethnic areas. The 50 percent win rate was in sharp contrast to its 79 percent victory two years earlier.

In a statement released Dec. 31 after the meeting, the party said it would work hard to win by-elections expected to be held this year to fill seven vacant seats in regional and national parliaments.

The country now has another viable alternative political party founded by activists involved in the student-led 8888 uprising. The main opposition group, the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, is also gearing up for 2020, with party leaders touring remote states and recruiting new members, while the ruling NLD has been criticized as disorganized and fractious.

According to Monywa Aung Shin, problems have arisen with party members at the state and division levels, including nepotism, failing to implement orders from headquarters and disputes between cabinet members, lawmakers and the party leadership.

"We must reform to tackle those issues," he said.

In the statement, the party said it would focus on achieving unity and harmony between the party, government and parliaments.

The party also said it would also work to support internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been forced to flee armed conflict. Monywa Aung Shin said it would provide resettlement and other humanitarian assistance to IDPs, especially in northern Rakhine state but also in Kachin, Shan and Karenni states.

"The government alone can't do everything. We will collaborate with NGOs and regional and state chief ministers on this," he said.

Political analyst Dr. Yan Myo Thein said that while there had been some progress on development and reform, the NLD's performance had been less than satisfactory.

"To properly implement change, they need to listen to the public more closely," Dr. Yan Myo Thein said.

NLD senior official and spokesperson U Nyan Win said that in the run-up to 2020 the party would work harder on the weaknesses and problem areas it had identified.

He said the party is also struggling to fill positions in the party left by those who have become MPs, ministers and cabinet members.

"Those past [mistakes] are lessons. We will work more effectively in the future," U Nyan Win said. "We will try our best to win the [2020] election as we did in 2015."

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Thursday, January 4, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

A nation cursed by the legacy of colonialism

Posted: 04 Jan 2018 12:48 AM PST

In November 1885 Burma's last monarch, King Thibaw, and his queen were transported by a British flotilla from Mandalay into exile in India, where the King spent the rest of his lives. Burma soon became a colony of the British.

Thibaw was no doubt a feeble and despotic king, and was often described as such in the British press. But the new foreign rulers were not welcomed with open arms; instead they faced uprisings and deep resentment. Seeing the empty Lion Throne in the palace deeply insulted the Burmese people.

Colonialism began with the looting of the grand Golden Palace in Mandalay, the extrajudicial killings of rebels and "dacoits", chaos, confusion and a breakdown in law and order. Not to mention the story of the British officers and soldiers who carried away the royal treasures as chronicled in "The King in Exile" by Sudha Shah. The country later witnessed Britain's systematic exploitation of its resources including teak, oil and agricultural products, as the colonial economy linked Myanmar to global markets.

Back in Mandalay, the rebellion did not begin with an upheaval, but developed into a sustained armed resistance, one the British combated with a brutal military strategy throughout the colony for many years. Rebel leaders were captured and beheaded or hanged after sham trials. Villagers suspected of harboring sympathizers were burned and their inhabitants forcibly relocated.

After losing its king, the country was subsequently annexed to India, causing deep insult to the people.

Colonialism left the nation divided and destroyed. Deploying their notorious divide-and-rule strategy, the British created a frontier area and divided it among ethnic minorities and majority Burmans. This was the beginning of the ethnic-based nationalism that lingers to this day as a legacy of British rule. Still, people and authorities often discussed migration to the Northern Arakan border area under British rule, as colonial authorities applied the divide-and-rule policy to govern the local Arakanese and the migrant Muslim population from the Chittagong Hills. We have recently seen renewed violence in this area.

Unsurprisingly, it was under British rule that Burma first witnessed major riots and massacres of the Indian migrant population brought in by the foreign rulers. Under British occupation, Indians were brought in to serve in the administration and in the army. As a result, the country witnessed a series of anti-Indian riots beginning in 1930. Moreover, to keep the majority Burmans, who were perceived as rebellious and disloyal, at bay, local ethnic groups were invited to serve in the colonial army and administration.

Then came the independence struggle of the 1930s, led by local politicians and student activists and ultimately culminating in Burma's hard-won independence; but not before the Japanese occupation of the country and subsequent battles between two foreign powers, the Allied forces and the Japanese, further devastated the country. This was a war between two colonizers, not between Burmans and ethnic groups.

Aung San, the father of current State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, negotiated with the British to reclaim independence. In July 1947, months before national independence was finally restored, Aung San and his cabinet members were gunned down by political rivals backed by British officers. U Saw, a former prime minister, was hanged along with his accomplices.

Even today the degree of British involvement in the conspiracy and the identity of those behind the assassination of Aung San is a topic of debate among Myanmar citizens and intellectuals, and has been the topic of numerous books, essays and research papers.

On Jan. 4, 1948, at 4:20 am – thought to be an astrologically auspicious hour – Myanmar became an independent nation. But how auspicious was it? The new country was plunged into civil war and violence. Myanmar citizens have celebrated Independence Day annually for seven decades but the degree to which the country enjoys genuine independence is still in question and the subject of heated debate among the nation's people and ethnic groups.

For 70 years the country has seen civil war, foreign aggression in the North in the 1950s, and then the dictatorship led by Ne Win, who seized power in 1962 and ruled until 1988. The country was in self-imposed isolation for decades. The socialist regime was ended by a nationwide uprising in 1988 but only after a bloody crackdown, which saw a new regime come to power and rule the country for decades. However, one can point to democratic periods when people felt free and saw the beginnings of prosperity in some parts of Myanmar in the 1950s under the leadership of Prime Minister U Nu. Sadly, this did not last long.

It is important to reflect on the legacy of the colonial period and understand how this disaster brought the country into chaos and increased division. Its legacy of ongoing strife, instability and ethnic and racial division means that the country needs strong, ruled-based leadership – but not a return to military rule – to keep the country together and moving forward. Who doesn't want peace, stability and prosperity for Myanmar? What, then, is the real, nagging core issue that keeps the country in a failed state?

The debate over whether Myanmar is really free and independent is a healthy one, and we would do well to reflect on the colonial legacy and learn from the past and from our history.

The post A nation cursed by the legacy of colonialism appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Thoughts on Seven Decades of Independence

Posted: 03 Jan 2018 07:38 PM PST

Nai Hong Sar

Chairman of the United Nationalities Federal Council 

"[Gen. Aung San] persuaded the ethnicities to fight together to free ourselves from the yoke of the British and the Japanese, with a promise that there would be equal rights like brothers after the country regained independence. But it did not happen.

In fact, Gen. Aung San was quite broad-minded. He made a lot of promises to the ethnicities and intended to build a true [federal state] with equality. But the leaders who came to power after his death did not act righteously, and civil war continues today. None of the citizens have enjoyed true independence or the benefits of independence, which is disheartening. Because of the incorrect attitude of those leaders, our country is in poverty and still embroiled in civil war. And a lot of people are facing difficulties. Only a handful of those in power enjoy independence. It is a situation I must criticize. The independence we got is freedom from foreign control. But as the ruling elite exercised dictatorship and racial chauvinism, the ethnicities have lost their rights and the people are also denied their fundamental rights.

What we should expect is a 21st century Panglong Union Peace Conference held with the intention of national reconciliation and to bring an end to the civil war. All the concerned armed groups should participate in it so that the conference will be meaningful and the other side will have no doubts.

Again, it is important that every leader attending the conference strives with the right attitude for a democracy that is suitable for our country, and ethnic equality and a federal union with self-determination. Unless and until this is achieved, independence will remain a sham."

U Thant Myint-U

Historian

"British colonialism was a disaster for Myanmar. It's important to remember that colonial rule not only destroyed local forms of government, but also violently overturned social economic and moral structures that had developed over centuries, especially in the Irrawaddy Valley. Colonialism introduced a far more extractive state, focused almost entirely on maximising the export of primary commodities to global markets. The modern state in Myanmar was born as a colonial occupation, with an imported bureaucracy, backed by military power. Of course Myanmar in the 1930s was far more developed than Myanmar in the 1880s. But a Myanmar that had stayed independent, like Siam or Japan, may have been richer still. Colonialism gave birth to ethnic-based nationalism and new racial attitudes connected to mammoth and unregulated Indian immigration. And in the end, colonialism did not even protect the country. When the Japanese invaded in 1941, British rule collapsed like a house of cards. Burma was destroyed twice over as part of someone else's war. And when Burma finally became independent in 1948, the country was in ruins, politically as well as economically. The stage was set for 70 years of internal armed conflict, dictatorship, and self-imposed isolation.  This 70th anniversary is a good time to reflect on the colonial legacies and mindsets that are still everywhere in Myanmar and begin to move skilfully in a genuinely post-colonial direction."

U Mya Aye

Leading member of the Federal Democratic Force and former student leader

"It has been 70 years since Myanmar gained independence. We have seen no development though; all we have seen is problems, fighting and arguments between different sides, and civil war. So, on the 70th anniversary of Independence Day, we must focus on the peace process. There will be different perspectives on it. But I think it is important to create a harmonious society and establish a federal Union as part of the peace process. I would like to urge all groups to join hands to make this happen.

I was born around 30 years after independence. But I have not yet enjoyed the true freedom, dignity and pride of a citizen of an independent country in the international community. So, this is the time for people in their 30s and 40s to try with all their might and love for the country in anticipation of genuine freedom. This is the time for them to work hard by avoiding waste, speaking out, and improving themselves as necessary, as well as encouraging others to improve."

Dr. Cynthia Maung

Founder of the Mae Tao Clinic

"Independence was collectively achieved by Myanmar's various ethnic groups for the causes of equality and democracy. Ethnic equality is directly related to peace. At the same time, equality is the essence of independence in rebuilding the state. As the country has been under military control for many years, those rights have never been asserted. It is important to make all understand this point in ensuring a switch from military control to civil administration and ethnic equality and fundamental human rights under this government. It is also important to take a cue from Asian countries, especially neighboring countries, in implementing reforms. Federal democracy can't be built by a single party or organization, but calls for a collaborative effort by all. I hope that the entire nation will join hands to build a peaceful and secure environment."

U Nyan Win

Member of the National League for Democracy's Central Executive Committee

"It has been 70 years now. Previous leaders tried to stop the civil clashes that were born with independence. Our ambition is to ensure peace of mind and liberty for all people. Frankly speaking, we do not yet enjoy full freedom, though there has been some progress. People do not yet enjoy full independence. And much remains to be done for this to happen. We will try to achieve internal peace as soon as possible. But I don't want to make a wild guess about when we will get it. It is the responsibility of all to try."

Col. Naw Bu

Information officer of the Kachin Independence Army

"As a Myanmar citizen, I would say that Independence Day is about all national people claiming independence from the British. But once independence was regained, we ethnicities were discriminated against, not by Bamars but by military dictators. Therefore, not only the ethnicities but also the Bamar people have become a 'being ruled' class today.  So, Independence Day has become a meaningless day to us.

Everyone needs to know that civil war has been going on since Independence Day through today. We people want independence and peace. But so far, our country has little reason to be hopeful.

And we have not yet enjoyed the fruits of peace. If independence is really for the people and country, we welcome it. But otherwise, it is meaningless to us. The military and the government should govern the country and the people with a pure heart and broad-mindedness. There is no freedom in the country because the government and Tatmadaw have weak points."

Daw Thet Thet Khaing

Member of Parliament

"I feel gratitude toward the martyrs as well as the honored and unsung heroes who sacrificed their lives and blood in the independence struggle as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of independence this year. At the same time, I feel that there is a lot of work to be done because Myanmar has not yet become a developed and prosperous country in these 70 years, despite its natural resources and human resources.

So it is crucial that we find solutions. There is a need to put the right people in the right places and seek continuous improvement in socioeconomic development, which is important for building the country. I urge everyone to do their fair share and participate in national development.

As Sitagu Sayadaw said, there are four components to building a successful society: the government, the people, the Tatmadaw [Myanmar's military] and the Sangha [clergy]. These four groups must join hands. By Sangha, I mean not only Buddhist monks, but all concerned religious organizations. I hope they will work in unity to build a successful society."

The post Thoughts on Seven Decades of Independence appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

70 Years On, the Struggle for Independence Goes On

Posted: 03 Jan 2018 05:34 PM PST

"Let us rejoice at the independence which has come to us today, the result of sacrifices undergone by us and those who preceded us in the years that have passed."

Those are the words of Burma's first president, Sao Shwe Thaike, in his independence message on Jan. 4, 1948.

So began the story I wrote for the 60th anniversary of Myanmar's independence in 2008. It went on…

What has the 60th anniversary of Burma's independence brought in 2008? Did it bring freedom, prosperity and happiness? 

Sadly, little of the above can be found in the country today [2008]. Instead, we find more oppression, poverty and misery.  

On Independence Day, the then prime minister, U Nu said, "There is no room for disunity or discord — racial, communal, political or personal — and I now call upon all citizens of the Burma Union to unite and to labor without regard to self and in the interest of the country to which we all belong."  

In contrast, a few months after Burma gained independence from nearly 100 years of British rule, civil war broke out between the government and communist and ethnic rebel groups. Since then, civil war has continued in the country.

About 10 years after independence, a bloody coup occurred that, in effect, cut off any real chance for freedom and prosperity. From then on, the military has had a firm grip on the reins of power.

In the past 60 years, Burma had opportunities to create a democracy with a good economy but failed. Instead, our country has devoted its energy to infighting and disagreement based on differing political ideologies.  

We have to speak honestly. Burma today has few things we can be proud of. Politics is a disgrace. Economics is a tragedy. Society itself is exhausted. Seemingly, everyone in the world knows something about Burma, but it's mostly negative.

My story for the 60the anniversary of Independence Day went on from there. A decade has since passed. Today is the 70th anniversary of Independence Day. And the questions for this year are: What is different from 2008? And what does independence mean for Myanmar today?

The main difference is that Myanmar has an elected government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a former prisoner of the military regime. That means the military no longer has absolute power.

But some of the main challenges the country was facing 10 years ago remain challenges today: The civil war that started with independence has not ceased; The undemocratic Constitution drafted by the military regime will have its 10th anniversary this year; Thanks to the privileges that Constitution reserves for the military, the generals remain powerful political players by holding on to key government ministries, 25 percent of the seats in both the national and regional parliaments; The economy is still not good; Outdated and oppressive laws enacted by colonial Britain in the early 20th century are still being used to negative effect; And countless more problems knotted with the bad legacies of colonialism.

Moreover, the country has faced more and greater challenges. Take a look at every corner of Myanmar and you will see them. Some are the same old challenges, only now at alarming levels; the Rakhine conflict as an example, with hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees. Since the 1980s, when the military of the then socialist regime waged war with ethnic armed groups based along Myanmar's frontiers with Thailand and China, hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes for refugee camps in border areas.

All of those challenges have come from the pre- and post-independence eras. Myanmar society is chronically ill. The nationwide uprising of 1988 intended to fix them with people power, but it was crushed by the military regime.

That is why Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called the '88 pro-democracy uprising Myanmar's "second struggle for independence."

The current struggle is much more delicate than the independence struggle under the leadership of Aung San, the father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been dealing with the ruling generals for decades and is dealing with them still to achieve a democracy that can guarantee unity, equality and prosperity — goals her own father was aiming for prior to independence.

The people of Myanmar still long for these ideals and believe that if Aung San had survived the country would have evolved along that path. However, since the 32-year-old Aung San was killed in 1947, Myanmar has been headless. The country has suffered from a crisis of leadership.

The people of Myanmar still remember him as a selfless leader with integrity, whose shrewd dealings with both the British and the Japanese in the mid-20th century helped Myanmar break free from imperialism and achieve independence.

Now, seventy years later, his daughter is the de facto leader as state counselor, winning a mandate from a majority of voters in the 2015 general election. Certainly her goal is to achieve her father's aspirations for the country – democracy, unity, equality and prosperity.

But the challenges she has been facing are different from her father's. When Aung San led the independence struggle, his enemy was clear – imperialism. For Aung San Suu Kyi, the enemy is widespread and sometimes unclear – generally speaking, anyone who is against democracy and its principles.

While her father was the independence leader, she is seen as the democracy leader. Like her father, she has gained a mandate to lead the country to a genuine democracy. In her own words, she — with a majority of the people — is waging the second struggle of independence.

That struggle, to achieve the goals aimed for when Myanmar gained its independence 70 years ago, goes on.

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Wednesday, January 3, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Rohingya Crisis Makes Top 10 List of Conflicts to Watch in 2018

Posted: 03 Jan 2018 03:57 AM PST

YANGON — The International Crisis Groups (ICG) has picked the Rohingya crisis for its ignominious list of the top 10 conflicts around the world to watch in the coming year, warning of persistent risks for both Myanmar and Bangladesh.

More than 650,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled Buddhist majority Myanmar for Bangladesh to escape what the Belgium-based think tank calls the military's "brutal and indiscriminate" response to a late August attack on security force posts in Rakhine State by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

Rights groups and journalists have collected a litany of reports of mass rape, arbitrary killings and arson from the refugees, prompting the UN to call the military's behavior "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." Myanmar's military absolved itself of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation.

In picking the crisis for its list, published Tuesday, the ICG warns that it has entered "a dangerous new phase, threatening Myanmar's hard-won democratic transition, its stability, and that of Bangladesh and the region as a whole."

It says the government has heavily restricted humanitarian aid to northern Rakhine and continues to hold onto a "hardline stance" toward the Rohingya, albeit with broad popular support stoked by racist rhetoric from Buddhist nationalists and state and social media. The West's moves to revive sanctions sent the right signal, it adds, but were unlikely to do much good.

Last month, Social Welfare Minister U Win Myat Aye told the Irrawaddy that Bangladesh and Myanmar had agreed to start bringing refugees back home by the end of January.

But the ICG says most refugees were unlikely to return "unless Myanmar restores security for all communities, grants the Rohingya freedom of movement as well as access to services and other rights, and allows humanitarian and refugee agencies unfettered access."

In private, it says, Bangladesh admits the plan is doomed but has done little to prepare for the refugees' stay, raising the risks of conflict between the newcomers and outnumbered locals facing rising prices and falling wages.

As for Myanmar, the ICG warns that a regrouped ARSA or other transnational groups could use the refugee camps as fertile recruiting grounds and launch cross-border attacks that would likely ratchet up already tense Muslim-Buddhist relations in Rakhine and even spark outbreaks of violence elsewhere should the attacks reach beyond the state.

"Acknowledging the crisis, implementing recommendations of the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, and disavowing divisive narratives would put the Myanmar government — and its people — on a better path," it concludes.

As reluctant bedfellows in the Rohingya crisis, Myanmar and Bangladesh share the ICG's list of conflicts to watch in 2018 with Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sahel, Syria, North Korea, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen and the US-Saudi-Iran rivalry.

The post Rohingya Crisis Makes Top 10 List of Conflicts to Watch in 2018 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rewards of Independence Remain Elusive

Posted: 03 Jan 2018 02:32 AM PST

Seven decades after Burma freed itself from colonial rule, true freedom, prosperity and independence remain elusive for Myanmar, as foreign powers compete for influence and powerful military rulers continue to exert their grip. On the 70th anniversary of independence, we reexamine these issues by revisiting our cover story, originally titled "Independence Lost", from The Irrawaddy's January 2008 issue.

When Gen Sir Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast led his gunboats up the Irrawaddy River to Mandalay in November 1885, King Thibaw and his army were ill-equipped to defend the city, let alone protect the nation.

The last Burmese monarch, who was 28 years old and had hardly ever been outside the confines of his palace, was quickly shipped into exile. Burma, a country that had in its recent history expanded to conquer neighboring countries, had lost not only its king, but its independence.

Thibaw and his queen were quietly escorted onto the steamer Thooreah by British troops and sent to Rangoon. Burmese subjects were later shocked to learn that king had been captured and exiled by the British colonialists to Madras. He never returned.

To the British and Gen Prendergast, invading Mandalay was like picking fruit from a low-hanging tree. The locals, however, refused to condone the kidnapping and resentfully determined not to welcome the self-styled "deliverers from tyranny," as the British liked to consider themselves.

King Thibaw was pathetically weak and had not been a visionary in any way—prior to the British invasion, he received bad press in the West. He was portrayed as a monster, a mass murderer who killed princes and princesses, a womanizer and a drunkard.

Newspapers in Rangoon financed by British merchants had often called for an invasion or annexation of upper Burma. The British colonizers sought regime change and Thibaw was deposed.

Thant Myint-U, the author of "The River of Lost Footsteps," suggested that Mandalay was a stepping stone to unopened markets in Asia for the British merchants.

The Burmese historian wrote: "Years of British machinations had also produced a lively exiled opposition, and more than one of Thibaw's brothers were plotting to overthrow him from beyond the kingdom's borders. That Burma was a potentially rich country no one seemed to doubt, certainly not the increasingly vocal Scottish merchants in Rangoon, eager for unfettered access to the teak forests, oil wells, and ruby mines of the interior. What seemed even more tempting was the prospect of a back door to China's limitless markets."

Burma fought back, but Burma is a land of love and goodwill, the land of Buddhism, and in battle, love and goodwill could not resist cold steel. Brave Burmans fell in resisting the invaders, many feats of daring were displayed to the wonder-struck British soldiers; the Burmese warriors brandishing "dahs" would rush at British gun nests and cannon posts, bullets would cut down the brave comrades, but still the survivors would come on. At times even British military science was puzzled by the lightning manoeuvres and tactics of the defenders. At times the "dahs" silenced the cannons.

The article, “Rewards of Independence Remain Elusive”, as it appeared in The Irrawaddy Magazine's January 2008 issue under original title 'Independence Lost.'

But the fight was unequal from the beginning. British bayonets shed Burmese blood on Burma's soil, and slowly, the guns moved in.

When the Third and last Anglo-Burmese War was fought, the organized resistance of Burma had become very feeble and there were almost no severe engagements. It was not a war really; It was just a coup d'etat, a sudden storm that came down on the puzzled Burmese and blew away before they could realize what had happened. When the people recovered from the shock and surprise, King Thibaw and his Queen had been taken away by General Prendergast of the British invading troops. A brass tablet fixed on an outer wall of the Palace at Mandalay reads, "King Thibaw sat at this opening with his two Queens and the Queen-mother when he gave himself up to General Prendergast on the 30th November, 1885."

November 30, 1885: Burma's King had been taken away. Burma's throne had tumbled down. Burma had become "part of Her Majesty's Dominions and will during Her Majesty's pleasure be administered by such officers as the Viceroy and Governor-General of India may from time to time appoint."

But Burma woke up, though too late in fact. The people shook off their shock and went into action. Organized resistance became impossible since the King was gone and a leader to consolidate all the forces of the country was wanted. But undaunted, patriots formed themselves into small groups and waged their own war under their own leaders. For years the war went on. In the British Gazette of January 1886, it was said that peace was in Burma and order had been regained. On paper there was peace. But in the country the battle grew fierce within months. Guerrilla bands often expelled British garrisons and administered the towns and districts. The people hailed their coming, helped them, and hid them during their movements in times of difficulty. The occupation troops were kept busy all the time and at one point a Military Force of 32,000 men with two Major-Generals and six Brigadier-Generals commanding was actually brought into the field against the Burmese patriots. Vigorous offensive operations were launched, but still the patriots fought on. The exasperated British called the patriots "dacoits" and "gangsters" but it was worthy of notice that the "dacoits" did not plunder the villages they could hold, that the villagers were happy whenever the "dacoits" came, that the "dacoits" were only bent on fighting the British.

It was during those long years of determined resistance that such Generals like Bo Min Yaung became famous. Bo Min Yaung was the terror of the British garrisons in Middle Burma and it is interesting to see that General Aung San, Burma's war leader and front line fighter for freedom was a descendant of the famous Bo Min Yaung.

The article, “Rewards of Independence Remain Elusive”, as it appeared in The Irrawaddy Magazine's January 2008 issue under original title 'Independence Lost.'

The claim that Burma had swung back to normalcy soon after the occupation was complete, could not hide the fact that when the Viceroy visited Mandalay, "the members of the Hlutdaw, preserved a defiant attitude, presented no address of welcome, took no part in the proceedings and sat with their shoes on in the Viceroy's presence." Sitting in the Viceroy's presence with shoes on was but the mildest form of defiance which Burma showed to the usurpers.

Mopping up operations were intensified, the Military Force was strengthened, and systematic disarmament of the whole country was carried out. The patriots with no proper organization, no one leader to unite them, no set aims to inspire them, gradually became tired and disillusioned. Resistance thus ebbed slowly, but it was only in 1890, five years after the annexation, that the British could, with an approach to correctness, claim that law and order had been restored.

Burma resigned to her fate and gave up the struggle. It was not, however, a peace—it was but a truce. The storm had lulled, not died. Burma's fight for freedom was to be resumed again.

The invasion of Mandalay did not bring peace to the region.

Disquiet grew in the rural areas—subtle signs of resistance were detected; officials who worked at the court in Mandalay became increasingly uncooperative with their British masters.

The insurgency that followed was put down ruthlessly by the British—summary executions were rampant and often held in public, as were the beheadings of prisoners or "dacoits."

However, the unrest could not be quashed. The Burmese were too eager to restore their monarchy and establish independence.

Saya San, who named himself "King of Burma," led a revolt against the British in 1930, forcing the government to deploy 8,000 fresh soldiers, equipped with machine guns, to quell the year-long peasant revolt.

Monks, farmers, students, workers from oil fields in central Burma and political activists joined in the struggle to regain independence.

A grassroots civil campaign was born—the "Thakin" movement. Thakin, meaning "We the masters," an expression the British colonists used to denote themselves, was adopted by the young Burmese nationalists. Social welfare organizations and the Young Men's Buddhist Association all joined the fray in the independence struggle. Nowadays, one can draw many parallels between the civic movements, such as the "White Campaign," the "Open Heart Campaign" and the "Signature Campaign," which were launched by students and activists to oppose the military regime, to those early nationalist movements in Burma.

But it was the domino effect of events far away that would ultimately lead to the demise of British rule in Burma—the outbreak of World War II.

The golden land of Burma became a battlefield. In 1942, the Japanese had taken away and trained a group of young Burmese, including Aung San, to liberate the country from the British. That group would later become known as the "Thirty Comrades."

"Fifty-six years after Harry Prendergast's overthrow of King Thibaw, British rule in Burma collapsed like a house of cards, its soldiers and officials tossed out together with hundreds of  thousands of panic-stricken refugees by the elegantly mustached Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida and his Fifteenth Imperial Army. The Burmese had nothing to do with the war, but it destroyed their country," wrote Thant Myint-U.

After the British retreated, it didn't take long for the Burmese to realize that what the Japanese had granted them was no more than a "gold-plated independence."

Enter Aung San, an eccentric, short-tempered law student from Rangoon University, raised by his grandfather, rebel leader Bo Min Yaung, who was later beheaded by the British.

Aung San's single-mindedness, sincerity and straightforward speech won him friends and enemies alike. He realized that it would take nothing less than armed struggle to finally satisfy Burmese desires for independence once and for all.

Employing military tactics he had learned from the Japanese, Aung San led the Thirty Comrades in driving out the British. Ironically, a few years later, Aung San found himself allied with British battalions in bloody battles against the fascist Japanese army.

By age 32, Aung San had developed statesmanlike qualities and a readiness to lead his country. But this time the fight for independence would take place at the negotiating table.

During a stopover in India on his way to London to meet Prime Minister Clement Attlee in January 1947, Aung San delivered a speech, in polished English, declaring that Burma demanded "complete independence" with no question of dominion status.

Aung San also told the assembled press that his countrymen would have no inhibitions about contemplating either a violent or non-violent struggle, or both, if their demands were not satisfactorily met.

However, in July 1947, Aung San and the members of his cabinet—comprised of national and ethnic leaders who were ably equipped to lead the new union of Burma—were gunned down by rivals. U Saw, prime minister in 1940-42, ordered the assassinations, believing that he would naturally succeed as leader of Burma once more.

To this day, colleagues of Aung San who are still alive, in Burma and in exile, still believe that the British conspired with U Saw in the assassination plot.

In January 1948, Aung San's promise of "independence within one year" was honored, though without his presence.

Burma's independence was hailed by the international and local press, and a rosy picture was painted by most, including The New York Times, Le Monde, the Daily Telegraph and the London Times.

London's Daily Telegraph wrote: "Though she is the first country to detach herself from the British Commonwealth, Burma's future will be watched with goodwill and full sympathy."

The New York Times heaped praise on the new nation: "Burma, last of the Asiatic nations to be swept by force into the British Imperial domain, now becomes the first to withdraw peacefully from the British Commonwealth."

But trouble lay ahead.

After Aung San's assassination and the British withdrawal, Burma plunged into turmoil and civil war, despite a plea by newly appointed prime minister U Nu on Independence Day, January 4, 1948: "On this auspicious day, there is no room for disunity or discord—racial, communal, political or personal—and I now call upon all citizens of the Burma Union to unite and to labor without regard to self and in the interest of the country to which we all belong."

His message was not well-heeded—a full-blown multi-ethnic insurgency erupted.

Soft-spoken U Nu and his cabinet did not serve for long. However, many Burmese who lived in his era recall economic prosperity and the country's potential to become one of the "tigers" of Southeast Asia.

In March 1962, another member of the "Thirty Comrades," Gen Ne Win, stepped in and staged a military coup, claiming to save the nation from the abyss. The charismatic leader's coup was well-received with few street protests. The newspapers of the day offered little in the way of criticism in their headlines.

However, students at Rangoon University foresaw trouble and became vocal opponents. Ne Win demonstrated his ruthlessness by demolishing the union building in July of the same year and killing scores of students.

Ne Win's hands were now stained with blood and, like Shakespeare's Macbeth, he was compelled to retain the throne at any cost.

Ne Win died at the age of 92. He lived long enough to see his kingdom of 26 years fall from being Asia's rice bowl to Asia's basket case—one of the least developed nations in the world. Burma had not been saved—it had been ruined and left in a shambles.

In 1988, Ne Win resigned in disgrace, his socialist government facing mass protests. Before he left office he made what is now a famous speech. If the army shoots, he stated, it has no tradition of shooting into the air. It would shoot to kill. The speech was the green light to quell the uprising—about 3,000 street demonstrators were gunned down. Burma was a killing field yet again.

At the same time, Aung San's daughter, Suu Kyi, who had returned from London to nurse her ailing mother, also gave an unforgettable speech, saying: "This national crisis could, in fact, be called the second struggle for national independence."

Although Ne Win's "Burmese Way to Socialism" program was thrown out, his dynasty and the military dictatorship went on. Snr-Gen Saw Maung, Gen Khin Nyunt and Snr-Gen Than Shwe, all emerged, not as saviors of Burma, but as ghosts of Prendergast who had stolen the nation's independence.

The country is now colonized by a junta—this time, the invasion of our country was not by foreign colonialists but by its own home-grown military dictators who penetrate every corner of the country.

If Aung San were alive today, he would be shocked by his country's standing in the world. He might even look on with envy at Burma's neighbors who were also colonized by the British—India, Singapore and Malaysia.

In 1957, ten years after Burma proclaimed its sovereignty, Malaysia (then Malaya) declared independence, followed by Singapore in 1965. Today, the two nations enjoy the strongest economies in Southeast Asia and have promising futures. India is the largest democracy in the world and a growing superpower. Burma, for its part, lacks democracy, prosperity and stability.

Today, Burmese are not proud to call themselves people of Burma, a country identified with poverty, political conflict and military dictatorship. While Burmese citizens fight back to overthrow the regime, others flee the country. Burma is a pariah state and a troubled child in the eyes of the world.

Since the day Gen Prendergast arrived in Mandalay with his gunboats, Burma's freedom, prosperity and independence have been suppressed and denied, first by foreign invaders and then by various military regimes.

Sixty years later the fight for true independence in Burma is still not over. The September uprising was a manifestation of Burma's long struggle for independence and a reminder to the world community that the fight goes on.

This article originally appeared in the January 2008 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

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116 Casualties on ‘Death Highway’ Last Year

Posted: 03 Jan 2018 01:10 AM PST

NAYPYITAW — There were 116 casualties on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway in 2017, according to the highway traffic police force.

There were a total of 555 road accidents in which 116 people were killed and 863 were injured. Private cars were responsible for most of the traffic accidents, according to traffic police.

The number of road accidents and casualties, however, has declined compared to 2016, which saw 774 road accidents with 170 fatalities and 1,304 people injured.

"The main cause of road accidents is speeding," said police officer Soe Win of the highway police force.

As of June 1 last year, traffic police have required drivers and passengers of either private vehicles or express buses to wear seat belts while driving on the highway.

More than 20,000 vehicles use the some 400-mile highway daily and there are around seven road accidents a day, said the highway traffic police force.

The highway, which connects commercial hub Yangon, administrative capital Naypyitaw and the second largest city Mandalay, came into service in 2009 and is dubbed by local road users as the 'death highway' due to high number of accidents.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has offered to provide a loan of more than $100 million to upgrade the highway, Deputy Minister for Construction U Kyaw Lin told reporters in November.

If the government approves the proposal, it will upgrade 40 miles of the highway by 2020 as a pilot project, he said.

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Govt Denies Rumors of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Paralysis

Posted: 02 Jan 2018 11:43 PM PST

NAYPYITAW — The President's Office on Tuesday denied rumors that State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been paralyzed and said it was investigating the source of the claims.

"She is not paralyzed. She is performing her duties healthily. She has recently undergone a medical checkup," U Zaw Htay, spokesman for the President's Office, told The Irrawaddy Tuesday evening.

"Except for her eye operation [in April], everything is good. And she is always careful with her lifestyle to keep healthy," he added.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi hosted a public peace talk, the fifth of its kind, in Karenni State on Friday and returned to Naypyitaw the same day. She has not been seen in public since.

The Myanmar Herald reported that rumors that the state counselor had been paralyzed started to spread among astrologers and some politicians on Sunday evening.

U Zaw Htay said she was back at her office on Tuesday, after the New Year's holiday.

By Wednesday morning, the State Counselor's Office posted photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arriving at the president's residence for a regular meeting, a move apparently intended to counter the rumors about her health.

Dr. Tin Myo Win, who has served as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's family doctor for years, told The Irrawaddy that she was in fair health and that a press release would be issued if she fell ill.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi underwent a medical checkup in September at the Grand Hantha Hospital in Yangon. The 72-year-old also reportedly undergoes regular medical checkups in Naypyitaw.

Political analyst Yan Myo Thein said that rumors were not unusual in Myanmar's political history. But because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was critically important to Myanmar's democratization process, he added, rumors about her had to be handled with great care.

"If the government informs the public about the health of leaders in real time, it will help control rumors and fake news to a certain extent," he said.

U Zaw Htay said he believed that some people were spreading rumors about the health of government leaders with bad intentions and that the President's Office had launched an investigation.

In early December, rumors circulated that President U Htin Kyaw's health had deteriorated and that he would soon resign. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi soon quashed the speculation.

"I have a suspicion that certain people are spreading rumors about the health conditions of important leaders to create political instability. If we knew who was spreading such rumors, we would know their intentions. But we have yet to find out who they are," the spokesman said.

Translated from Burmese by That Ko Ko.

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Irrawaddy Natural Resources Minister Resigns, Cites Poor Health

Posted: 02 Jan 2018 11:29 PM PST

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — The Irrawaddy regional minister for natural resources, environment, agriculture and livestock has decided to submit his resignation on health grounds.

"My health is not good. I am no longer physically fit to perform my duties. So, I'll submit my resignation," minister U Ba Hein told The Irrawaddy.

The agriculturalist and author on agricultural science was appointed to the current ministerial position as of April1 last year in the Irrawaddy regional government led by Mahn Johnny.

During his tenure, the minister helped groups of small-scale fishermen win tenders at low prices for fishery ponds that were otherwise monopolized by rich fishery businesspeople for years.

As a result, wealthy fishery businesspeople in the Irrawaddy Region filed complaints in 2016 against him with President U Htin Kyaw, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and chairman of the parliamentary Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission U Shwe Mann, and U Ba Hein had to explain.

On May 31 last year, around 300 fishermen staged a protest against U Ba Hein, alleging that the minister abolished fishery pond leases granted in line with the law by the previous government, and that he violated the standard procedures and directly sold fishery pond leases to unlawfully-formed groups of fishermen.

U Ba Hein is a reformist, and his proposed resignation is due to the fact that he is restricted to undertake reforms, suggested director U Tin Lin Aung of Green Peasant Institute, an agricultural training school based in Pathein, the capital of the Irrawaddy Region.

"The minister tried to help small-scale fishermen get leases for fishery ponds. He also wants to handle land confiscation cases. But, there are legal loopholes and the overall authority is not in his hands, but in the hands of the chief minister," said U Tin Lin Aung.

"So, there must be a lot of difficulty for him to do what it takes to make those reforms. He gave the excuse of ill health for his resignation to avoid offending anyone, I think," he suggested.

The previous regional government of the Union Solidarity and Development Party led by U Thein Aung had two separate ministries—the forestry and natural resources ministry and the mines, agriculture and livestock ministry. But the National League for Democracy government combined them into one.

In February, the Mon State Chief Minister U Min Min Oo resigned from his post amid a scandal regarding his performance. In November 2016, U Htun Win, the deputy minister for agriculture, livestock and irrigation, was sacked by President U Htin Kyaw, after a dispute with his chief minister Dr. Aung Thu.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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US Warns North Korea Against New Missile Test, Plays Down Talks

Posted: 02 Jan 2018 08:12 PM PST

UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL — The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, warned North Korea on Tuesday against staging another missile test and said Washington would not take any talks between North and South Korea seriously if they did not do something to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.

Haley told reporters the United States was hearing reports that North Korea might be preparing to fire another missile.

"I hope that doesn’t happen. But if it does, we must bring even tougher measures to bear against the North Korean regime," Haley said.

South Korea on Tuesday offered talks with North Korea next week, amid a tense standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year's Day speech that he was "open to dialogue" with Seoul.

Kim also said he was open to the possibility of North Korean athletes taking part in Winter Olympics South Korea hosts next month.

At the same time, he stressed that his country would push ahead with "mass producing" nuclear warheads in defiance of UN sanctions and that he had a nuclear button on his desk capable of launching missiles at the United States.

US President Donald Trump responded to Kim in a Twitter post on Tuesday: "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

Haley said the United States would not take talks seriously if they did not take steps toward banning North Korea's nuclear weapons.

"North Korea can talk to anyone they want, but the US is not going to recognize it or acknowledge it until they agree to ban the nuclear weapons that they have," she said.

Haley gave no details of the missile test preparations.

Another US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were indications that could point toward a potential missile launch "sooner rather than later," but cautioned that such signs had been seen in the past and no test had resulted.

'Drive a Wedge'

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said North Korea might be "trying to drive a wedge of some sort" between the United States and South Korea and added that while it was up to Seoul to decide who it talked to: "We are very skeptical of Kim Jong Un's sincerity in sitting down and having talks."

Trump, who has led a global drive to pressure North Korea through sanctions to give up development of nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the United States, earlier held back judgment on Pyongyang's offer to talk, saying on Twitter:

"Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time."

"Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not – we will see!"

Trump has frequently derided Kim as "rocket man." The US president said sanctions and other pressures were starting to have a big impact on North Korea.

Kim and Trump have exchanged fiery barbs in the last year and the US president has warned that the United States would have no choice but to "totally destroy" North Korea if forced to defend itself or its allies.

North Korea regularly threatens to destroy the United States, South Korea and Japan and tested its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile in November, which it said was capable of delivering a warhead anywhere in the United States.

South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon said the offer for high-level talks next Tuesday had been discussed with the United States. Nauert said she was not aware if the matter had been discussed in advance of the South Korean response.

Cho suggested the talks be held at the border village of Panmunjom and said they should be focused on North Korea's participation at the Olympics, but other issues would likely arise, including the denuclearization of North Korea.

"I repeat: The government is open to talking with North Korea, regardless of time, location and form," Cho said.

Should the talks be held, it would be the first such dialogue since a vice-ministerial meeting in December 2015.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim's New Year address and asked his government to move as quickly as possible to bring North Korea to the Olympics, but he stressed that an improvement in inter-Korean relations "cannot go separately with resolving North Korea's nuclear program."

China, which has persistently urged a return to talks to ease tensions, said recent positive comments from North and South Korea were a good thing.

"China welcomes and supports North Korea and South Korea taking earnest efforts to treat this as an opportunity to improve mutual relations, promote the alleviation of the situation on the Korean peninsula and realize denuclearization on the peninsula," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

The post US Warns North Korea Against New Missile Test, Plays Down Talks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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